Contributing Firms:
Question 1: A global minimum rate of 15 pc has been mooted. This will only have limited application to a selected number of companies. In this context is there any reason for the 12.5% not to remain the Irish Headline rate going forward, e.g. for SMEs ?
Question 2: What types of companies incorporated in Ireland would be subject to the special 15% rate ?
Question 3: If the Irish 12.5% Headline rate is preserved for most companies, what would be the comparative (i.e. headline rate for most companies) rates between Ireland and the following countries: US, UK, Germany, Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Switzerland, Cayman Islands ?
Question 4: What kinds of Financial Services companies in Ireland would be subject to the 15% ?
Question 5:With the Debt Warehousing Scheme (and the EWSS – (Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme) extended recently (in June) to the end of December 2021, what is the suggested roadmap for a return to the post Covid operational environment, from a tax administration and compliance point of view, for the estimated 86,000 Irish businesses that are availing of the Debt Warehousing Scheme with an aggregate tax debt of €2.3 billion (Revenue) ?
Question 6: In recent years, the Irish courts have overseen several very significant cross-border restructurings including the Ballantyne Re & Nordic Aviation Capital Schemes of Arrangement and the Weatherford International plc and City Jet DAC restructurings by way of Examinership. The recent examinership exit of Norwegian further demonstrates how Ireland is establishing itself as a leading restructuring destination in Europe. In what ways does (and can) Ireland’s tax system facilitate this as well ?
Question 7:The transposition into Irish law of the Institutions for Occupational Retirement Provision (IORP) II Directive at the end of April brings Ireland into line with the rest of the EU, and it is an event of major significance, as it ushers in important changes that have a bearing on tax planning issues with regard to pensions, such as the derogation that allowed one-person schemes to invest in unregulated markets such as property, and to borrow for the purpose of investment. What broad implications from a tax perspective is the IOPR Directive likely to have ?
While this month’s edition of the Irish Tax Monitor is published at a moment that can hardly be matched in critical importance for the future of Ireland’s international tax system, the Roundtable addresses a range of additional issues that go to prove that while the headline 12.5% rate is of critical importance, it is not the only game in town. Also coming under the microscope this month are the tax aspects of Ireland’s Examinership model highlighted by several very significant cross-border restructurings including the Ballantyne Re & Nordic Aviation Capital Schemes of Arrangement and the Weatherford International plc and City Jet DAC restructurings by way of Examinership. Deloitte’s Chen Zhang says “the positive feedback to date from the Irish courts and the relatively flexible process of the Part 9 Scheme of Arrangement, will continue to make Ireland a favourable location for restructuring arrangements”. Also in this issue are the tax aspects of the IORP Directive, and continuing coverage of the tax arrangements being put in place and modified as the country continues to cope with the continuing Covid-19 crisis. Our special feature, this month, by Aine Gibney looks at the increased administrative requirements for the reporting of share awards for employees arising from Section 8 of the Finance Act 2020.
The Minister for Finance has a strong personal conviction like his predecessor, Michael Noonan, about the justice and fairness underlying Ireland’s approach to corporation tax, and the headline rate of 12.5% that has been in place in Ireland since 2003. The constancy and simplicity of the rate has been much more important than the actual level of the rate, which now has come under scrutiny, as a coalition of countries, including the US, Russia, and China, have come together on the issue. All coalitions are only temporary however, and the field of play can change.
Increased administrative requirements for the reporting of share awards for employees is likely to result in increased administrative burdens for companies offering their employees access to equity ownership in their corporations, a phenomenon that has increasingly been mooted as desirable from an ESG perspective. AINE GIBNEY points out that compilation of the detail and information required to complete the ESA return ‘will present employers with a significant time-intensive task, particularly for employers with a large number of employees in Ireland’.